Portman, Brown announce plans to Rename NASA’s Plum Brook Station test facility after Neil Armstrong

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WASHINGTON, DC – In advance of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, U.S. Senators Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced they plan to introduce legislation to rename NASA’s Plum Brook Station, the agency’s test facility in Sandusky, Ohio, after Neil Armstrong. Plum Brook is part of the NASA Glenn Research Center. It houses unique world-class facilities that conduct critical and innovative ground tests for the international aerospace community.

“From his service as a Navy fighter pilot, to his courageous experiments as a test pilot, to his space exploration and first step on the surface of the Moon, Neil Armstrong left an indelible mark in mankind’s history of flight. In all his accomplishments, he considered himself first and foremost a test pilot who pushed the boundaries of what was possible in the air and in space,” Portman said. “Neil was first a humble and patriotic Ohioan who believed the honor of serving his country was a reward in and of itself. That’s why when I asked him the year before he passed away whether he wanted me to pursue naming Plum Brook after him, he demurred. But he was a strong supporter of Plum Brook Station and the important simulations and testing being done there and I believe it is precisely because of his humility coupled with his unparalleled accomplishments that the renaming is appropriate. In consultation with his family, NASA, and Senator Brown, we all believe renaming Plum Brook in his honor – as one of Ohio’s greatest sons – is a fitting tribute on this 50th anniversary, and a way to help ensure that future generations will be inspired by Neil Armstrong‘s amazing accomplishments in air and in space.”

“Neil Armstrong wrote a new chapter in human history, and in Ohio’s proud story of reaching for the heavens – a tradition the workers at NASA Glenn’s Plum Brook Station continue today,” said Brown. “Neil embodied the best in our country – service, sacrifice, a sense of adventure, and a passion for serving the common good – and while he’s been showered with no shortage of accolades, it’s a fitting tribute to rename Plum Brook Station in his honor, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of his giant leap for humankind.”

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